Say some team offers you a 2nd rounder for Leonard Williams. Do you just take the offer, assuming that he's reached his ceiling here and will never live up to his draft status, or do you take a chance that a different defensive scheme can turn him into what he was supposed to be?
I know the Jets have more than enough cash to keep him. That's not the issue. If this production can be replaced by a mid round draft pick or a cheaper veteran like Henry Anderson, why pay him over $10 million per year? If they believe that he's been mediocre statistically because he's been miscast in the defense then that's a different story. I just hope the new regime doesn't keep him around just because he was the 6th overall pick.
I would take a 2nd-round pick for Leonard Williams rather than pay him market value. I would rather have the extra draft asset. They could find a replacement to do 80% of what Williams does for cheaper, and then they could reinvest the 2nd-round pick to help build the roster.
Williams will be 25 years old next year, so he's still young enough where he can improve, but he seems light he might be plateauing as a Shaun Ellis-caliber player. Ellis was a great Jet and a very good starter for a while, but we were hoping for more from the new Big Cat when we drafted him.
We do have to start spending money somewhere, and as long as Williams doesn't need a boatload of money, he's certainly a fine player to keep, but I'd rather take my chances in a trade and free agency.
